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Thomas Paine

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

22 September - Blogs I'm Following

I'm getting some really convincing looking advice to redo my LastPass password so as to reactivate my account...which is working. And blurbs even claim I won't have access until I change my password....but LastPass is working even though I am on the other side of the continent. Now, it is a Firefox build I'm using at the moment but I want to get moving on a limited time budget - so I'm doing nothing for now.

Stop Imperialism
Eric Draitser
The ongoing overt and covert war against Iran, instigated by the United
States and Israel primarily, seeks to isolate Iran politically, militarily
and, most importantly, economically. The Western imperialists have as
their goal no less than full-scale war with Iran, a key regional power and
one that the United States has failed to control or otherwise manipulate
since the revolution of 1979. Their attempts to demonize Iran as an
international pariah and an irrational actor on the world stage have been
repeatedly thwarted, most recently at the Non... more »

I and others in the real truth movement have been trying to get the message
out to everyone about the criminals who believe themselves to be the
"Chosen Ones", and are out to enslave all of the rest of mankind. I am of
course speaking of those who call themselves "Jews".
I have always been perplexed about the nature of Judaism itself, and about
its true origins. I have long come to the conclusion that we are dealing
with a group of people who's entire past is nothing more than a myth and a
massive fraud.
For this article, I want to present the following very interesting article... more »

To say I've been over the moon this weekend would be an understatement.
After waiting for more than a year, the second book of the The Century
Trilogy has finally hit the book shelves. Generally I tend to read more
academic stuff but since this book fits into the historical fiction genre
I'll gladly make an exception. ..and I did get a 30% discount too as it
turned out.
Truth be told, I only stumbled across this author by accident and had never
even heard of Ken Follett before. He's been a published author since
around the time I started Kindergarten in the '70's....who knew? ... more »

*Sarah S, exploring the brave new world of voter-ID
laws, sez: "Look, you want fair, move to Canada!"*
*"No Photo No Voto"*: *"How 'bout this bullshit? Some students, like in
Tennessee, because of the new voter-identification laws will not be able to
use their student IDs to vote, but -- and this is amazing -- gun owners can
use their firearms permits as ID to vote! It makes perfect sense: Get these
kids gun permits! Uh, I feel safer from voter fraud already!" Sarah's
equipping her nana too! (Check out www.LetMyPeopleVote2012.com.)*
*by Ken*
Our friend Jack passed along this amazing... more »

So North Korea has issued a "Gangnam Style" video to mock a South Korean
presidential candidate, Park Guen Hye, from the ruling conservative party.
According to Malaysia's *The Sun Daily*:
"The parody, posted on the official government website Uriminzokkiri, shows
a crudely photo-shopped image of Park doing the "horse-riding dance"
created by South Korean rapper Psy on the original "Gangnam Style" video.
The North Korean version mocks Park as a devoted admirer of the "Yushin"
system of autocratic rule set up by her father, Park Chung-Hee, after he
seized power in South Korea in a ... more »

YouTube Video Description [Channel - Rumi Forum For Interfaith Dialogue]:
"Dr. Douglas M. Johnston is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval
Academy and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in
Political Science from Harvard University. He has served in senior
positions in both the public and private sectors. Among his government
assignments, he was deputy assistant secretary of the navy; director of
policy planning and management in the Office of the Secretary of Defense;
and planning officer with the President's Office of Emergency Preparedness.
He has ta... more »

*Wikipedia*:
Following World War II, Schuon accepted an invitation to travel to the
American West, where he lived for several months among the Plains Indians,
in whom he always had a deep interest. Having received his education in
France, Schuon has written all his major works in French, which began to
appear in English translation in 1953. Of his first book, *The Transcendent
Unity of Religions* (London, Faber & Faber) T. S. Eliot wrote: "I have met
with no more impressive work in the comparative study of Oriental and
Occidental religion.
Frithjof Schuon - The Primordial Man... more »

Any strike against Iran by Israel cannot possibly be ‘unilateral’. All talk
of such a strike should be treated with the contempt it deserves because it
does not reflect reality in any way.
There are four necessities that Israel must have in order to be able to
launch a first strike against Iran – and all four can only be provided to
them by the US. They are: first, fuel. Israel gets all its military fuel
from the US. This includes literally millions of litres of JP-8 military
jet fuel, millions of litres of gasoline and millions of litres of diesel
fuel for its ground forces for use... more »

*Hawk Elder Edna Gordon on Survival and Sovereignty*
**
*Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com*
*
*Thank you Grandma Gordon, 91 years old, for sharing this message for the
people with Censored News, written with your own handwriting!
*By Seneca Hawk Elder Edna Gordon*
*Broomstick Revolution with Harvey Arden should be out soon. We also have
speak in October. I speak to all people to read the Censored News, to
become alert to the events affecting our people of all Nations.*
*Survival on the Pathway to Peace*
The Fundamental Roots of Peace is to abide by our Naturalistic Wa... more »

Above is an illustration of cutting edge pedagogy in the early 19th Century
for English children who could not afford private schools. The monitorial
system was based on older boys monitoring younger ones who parroted back
memorized lessons before they could move up to the next row. As many as
500 boys could be schooled in these learning sweat shops by a single
teacher. The monitorial system was invented by Joseph Lancaster, who
argued for education of the poor based on the need for social control and
efficiency.
And below is the inside of Carpe Diem Charter School in Yuma, AZ... more »

Funniest economist on the scene today? (Or just too intelligent and
courageous for words?) Okay, there are several others. But this guy has my
vote for being the best. Par excellence. And if you don't take the time to
listen to this, you probably aren't wise enough to survive the coming
really bad times (in the U.S. - not in the countries where the U.S.
corporations have relocated to, of

The Gods must be smiling down on Crispy Clark. Her right of centre rivals,
the B.C. Conservatives, have imploded. After the Cons' leader, Geriatric
John Cummins, was backed by a 71% vote, the party's sole MLA, former Lib
John van Dongen got into a car and sailed off into the sunset. JvD says
he'll sit as an Independent but won't return to the B.C. Libs u so long as
Clark is premier.
If the B.C. Cons can't attract viable candidates to run an effective
campaign next year, the Libs will be in a much better position to fight the
NDP challenge.
Only in B.C.

This post takes its title from a new paper at *Econ Journal Watch*. Here
is the abstract:
In early 2009, the incoming Obama administration’s Council of Economic
Advisers predicted real GDP would rebound strongly from recession levels.
In a blog post, Greg Mankiw expressed skepticism. In their blogs, Brad
DeLong and Paul Krugman sighed. Of course there would be strong growth,
they maintained, because the recovery of employment would mandate it via
Okun’s Law. Mankiw challenged Krugman to a bet on the issue, but there was
no response. Of course we now have a good idea of the likely o... more »

*"Book of Hours II, 16"*
"How surely gravity's law,
strong as an ocean current,
takes hold of even the strongest thing
and pulls it toward the heart of the world.
Each thing-
each stone, blossom, child-
is held in place.
Only we, in our arrogance,
push out beyond what we belong to
for some empty freedom.
If we surrendered
to earth's intelligence
we could rise up rooted, like trees.
Instead we entangle ourselves
in knots of our own making
and struggle, lonely and confused.
So, like children, we begin again
to learn from the things,
because they are in God's heart;
they have never lef... more »

Canada (Attorney General) *v.*Downtown Eastside Sex Workers United Against
Violence Society, 2012 SCC 45 has an interesting passage about public
interest standing. In effect the Court says the historical limit on Court
proceedings being brought only by persons with a definable interest should
be cut back.
This is of interest because it suggests Courts can and should make
decisions based on academic interest rather than the resolution of real
disputes in the real world.
And this brings the Courts squarely into pure public policy (of course
Canadian Courts have long made such deci... more »

Revolutionary thought of the day:
And all the criminals in their coats and ties
Are free to drink martinis
And watch the sun rise
- Bob Dylan
A woman refuses to kill people, and she is torn from her family and put in
jail.
A man orders some people to kill some other people, and he enjoys a
position of great power and prestige.
A shameful human condition.

*Greece's politicians and press are agonising over a wave of attacks on
immigrants, and what to do about it.
*
Justice Minister Antonis Roupakiotis threatened tougher punishment for
ethnic crimes, with sentences of over three years in jail for those who
attack migrant workers.
The public order ministry also said it would no longer provide police
guards for MPs from the far-right Golden Dawn party, which is seen by many
as a key factor contributing to the climate of xenophobia in Greece.
The party, which won 18 seats in parliament in June, blame some of the
country's economic proble... more »

*New York - Greece's ultra-nationalist party Golden Dawn (Chrysi Avgi) has
inaugurated a new office in New York City, to reach out to the Greek
diaspora. A branch of the political party is already operational in
Melbourne, Australia.*
According to Ekathimerini two polls this weekend have placed Golden Dawn as
the third political party in Greece, on nine percent of the vote. Their
rise in popularity, which Digital Journal reported as standing at 22
percent, means that the ultra-nationalist party has now overtaken PASOK in
public opinion.
Golden Dawn is now reaching out to the Gree... more »

Paul Ryan was roundly booed by senior citizens yesterday when he went to
New Orleans for the annual AARP conference and did his Lyin' Ryan routine
on them. "The first step to a stronger Medicare," he insisted, "is to
repeal Obamacare." The place broke out in raucous booing-- like Blink 182
fans at a Osmonds concert. He must have thought he was back at the Atlas
Society (an Ayn Rand appreciation society) luncheon when he was getting an
award for being an outspoken and unabashed Wall Street shill... and for
wanting to privatize Social Security (watch the video below). He claims he
... more »

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake has struck the BANDA SEA at a depth of 305.6 km
(189.9 miles), the quake hit at 20:25:36 UTC Saturday 22nd September 2012
The epicenter was 298 km (185 miles) Northeast from DILI, East Timor
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake has struck the TIMOR REGION at a depth of 53.9
km (33.5 miles), the quake hit at 19:41:34 UTC Saturday 22nd September 2012
The epicenter was 19 km (11 miles) SSE of Neob, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

By Manifesto Joe
After the past couple of weeks, I'll have to stop using the nickname of
"Slick Willard" to refer to Mitt Scumney. He hasn't been slick at all, and
some of the American people are getting a chance to see whom this really is.
I suppose his asinine behavior while visiting the Summer Olympic Games in
London should have been enough foreshadowing of this. Like Obama's
predecessor, this is a doofus, a son of privilege whose main talent seems
to be for making a fool of himself.
He followed up on insults to America's closest ally with the Libya debacle,
attacking alleged w... more »

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN
SUMATRA at a depth of 54.4 km (33.9 miles), the quake hit at 18:07:55 UTC
Saturday 22nd September 2012
The epicenter was 115 km (71 miles) Southwest of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

.
Why is the BBC starting to intensively promote a political party no one has
even heard of.........while many small parties with significant numbers of
members get hardly any airtime at all?
The BBC News tonight (Saturday 22nd Sept) had a short news item reporting
on the 'English Democrats' conference taking place near Leicester today.
The Guardian too has been covering the English Democrats. These people are,
seemingly, a splinter group that has separated from UKIP.
UKIP, for those who might not know, have been stealing large numbers of
votes from amongst disillusioned Tories, p... more »

*(Reuters) - An overwhelming majority of Greeks believe new austerity
measures the government has promised its international lenders in exchange
for more financial aid are unfair and hurt the poorest sections of society,
a poll showed on Saturday.*
Near-bankrupt Greece needs the European Union and International Monetary
Fund's blessing on measures worth nearly 12 billion euros ($16 billion) to
unlock its next tranche of aid, without which it faces default and a
potential exit from the euro zone.
The conservative-led coalition is struggling to strike a balance between
demands from ... more »

*A Pakistani government minister has put a $100,000 price on the head of
the man who made a film mocking Islam, which has sparked protests around
the world.*
Railways minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour told reporters in the northwestern
city of Peshawar: "I announce today that this blasphemer who has abused the
holy prophet, if somebody will kill him, I will give that person a prize of
$100,000.
"I also invite Taliban and al Qaeda brothers to be partners in this noble
deed.
"I also announce that if the government hands this person over to me, my
heart says I will finish him with my own... more »

In advance of the last throes of the election campaign season and all the
other big-fun events like war with Iran, Fukushima irradiating the planet,
economic collapse and climate change currently in progress, I'm taking a
much needed "vacation" timeout, but as the Terminator said, "I'll be back."
In the interim, there are 20,407 posts for your perusal, as well as the
very many great sites in the "Favorites" side bars which I strongly
encourage you to explore. Of course commenting is disabled to deter those
pesky live-link comment spammers. Folks, be as safe and happy as you can,
... more »

Chris Hedges gets to confront the nauseating Dinesh D'Souza in a
surprisingly extended moderated debate. Perhaps D'Souza is so disconnected
by reality (and cosseted by wingut welfare) that he's incapable of
perceiving when he's being utterly humiliated.

*HA NOI (VNS)— A highly-virulent, newly-mutated bird flu H5N1 strain is
feared to spreading from North Viet Nam to the South at a menacing pace,
warned deputy head of Animal Health Department Pham Van Dong.*
Speaking in Ha Noi yesterday, Dong, whose department comes under the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the outbreak of this
strain started in July and has so far attacked seven northern provinces
plus the central province of Quang Ngai.
To prevent further spreading south, the ministry has ordered provinces to
strengthen inspection and control activities.
In t... more »

* HONOLULU —
A mysterious coral die-off on Kauai’s north shore is prompting a team of
scientists to take a closer look at what may be killing large areas of
coral reef.*
Marine biologist Terry Lilley has been monitoring and documenting Kauai's
marine environment for the last decade or more.
This summer he was struck at how fast he was seeing something kill off what
he estimates are millions of coral colonies.
"Something is damaging the reefs in the whole part of the island so it has
to be something relatively big," said Lilley.
Lilley contacted scientists with the U.S. Geological S... more »

*FLORENCE, Mont. -
Administrators at the Florence Carlton School District report that between
20 and 30 students are sick with an undiagnosed illness.
*
Most of the reports come from younger students between kindergarten and 6th
grades. They're reporting symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
It's not unlike what the district dealt with in March. Back then, the
schools closed for several days to deal with a strain of the stomach flu.
Right now, Superintendent John McGee says the district is watching and
waiting to see what develops.
Ravalli County Health Officials are investi... more »

*TEHRAN -- The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said on
Saturday that Israeli officials must be aware that the Zionist regime will
be annihilated if it attacks Iran. *
“The dark stain, namely the Zionist regime, is seeking to launch a war
against us. Meanwhile, they are fanning the flames of war with Iran and are
emphasizing the point that ‘We have to attack Iran.’ But they are so stupid
and witless that their leaders are stopping them. They are not aware that
if such an action is taken, they will meet their end,” Major General
Mohammad Ali Jafari stated, the Persia... more »

*Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Francois Hollande’s appeal for
German-French unity to tackle Europe’s ills lasted all of three hours as
they disagreed over closer integration of the region’s banking system.*
The two leaders, marking Franco-German reconciliation after World War II,
delivered back-to-back speeches in which they hailed their mutual ties,
tried out each other’s language and pledged to work together for a more
unified Europe to defeat the financial crisis. The bonhomie broke down at a
subsequent press conference when they failed to mask their differences on a
pla... more »

*BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Upheaval in Libya's second largest city raises a
collision between Libyans' aspirations for change and the capability of the
country's fragile, post-Moammar Gadhafi leadership to bring it. After
protests against militias rock Benghazi, leaving at least four dead,
residents on Saturday vowed a new "revolution" to rid themselves of armed
factions and Islamic extremists.*
But authorities tried to stem the popular anger, pleading that with the
police and army weak, they need some of those militias to keep security.
Furious assaults by protesters against the comp... more »

Majia Derivatives were at the heart of the financial crisis that began in
2007. One might argue that the effects of the crisis -- including
privatization of government holdings and services and the downsizing of
average citizens’ savings and incomes -- stem from financial firms’
strategic warfare with derivatives. Derivatives are indeed weapons of mass
destruction, as described by Warren Buffet.
As 2012 comes to a close, the western financial system faces new
shocks from derivatives. This time the derivatives at issue are not simply
derived from mortgage backed securities... more »

------------------------------
*WORLD WITHOUT TORTURE: THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE WEST*
------------------------------
September 22, 2012 | Original here
Paul Craig Roberts was interviewed by Nilantha Ilangamuwa, editor of
Torture, a print and online magazine published by the Asian Human Rights
Commission based in Hong Kong and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre
for Torture Victims in Denmark. Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives is a
new initiative which focuses on torture and its related issues globally.
Writers interested in having their research on this subject published... more »

Late last week in Iowa, Ann D. Romney, wife of Republican presidential
candidate Mitt Romney, attacked her husband's critics, this time
Republicans. Mrs. Romney faulted her fellow conservatives for not being
grateful enough to have her husband as the Republican Party's
standard-bearer as well for not having an adequate enough appreciation for
how hard being on the campaign was for her personally. What were some of
the examples of how tough Ann D. Romney has had it on the campaign trail?
------------------------------
10) In 2007, husband's presidential campaign made her skip a cou... more »

Yesterday, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, this email from Jason Kenney's
parliamentary account landed in my inbox at the address I use for blogging,
tweeting, and signing petitions.
Friends,
Last Friday, my colleague John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke in
great detail about Canada’s principled foreign policy, including our
efforts to promote basic freedoms around the world, and to take a stand
against the persecution of gays and lesbians, and against the
marginalization of women in many societies. I made similar remarks in my
speech last November to the global conference of the... more »

The recent news that Espresso Book Machine suppliers, On Demand Books, were
to partner with Eastman Kodak and ReaderLink Distribution Services to
distribute book production to potentially 105,000 locations was greeted by
many smaller presses and self publishing houses with great enthusiasm.
Kodak is reportedly working with On Demand to integrate the Espresso Book
Machine with the widely available KODAK Picture Kiosk and potentially
provide 7 million titles on the long awaited ‘distribute and print’.
ReaderLink open this opportunity further to include some 24,000 retail
outlets (... more »

I'll go with what appears to be good news: the anti-militia (and
pro-American) rallies in Libya.
As far as what didn't matter...I'll take the easy way out, and go with the
change-from-inside supposed gaffe. Mainly because I need to link to my
somewhat-related Salon column.
But I'm sure y'all have plenty more. What else? What do you think mattered
this week?

* Riot police were forced to break up crowds at a teenager’s 16th birthday
party after 3,000 people turned up because she left the Facebook event
invitation open.
*
There were reports of six people hurt, three seriously, as shops were
vandalised and looted, a car set on fire and street signs and lampposts
were damaged in the northern Dutch town of Haren.
Up to 600 riot police were on the scene and at least 20 arrests were made,
media reports said on Friday night. Read More

*A man was viciously mauled by a 400-pound tiger after leaping into the
animal's den at New York's Bronx Zoo yesterday afternoon in an bizarre
suicide attempt.*
David Villalobos, 25, of Mahopac, New York, is in critical condition after
being attacked by Bachuta, an 11-year-old male Amur tiger.
Villalobos also had his back bitten, where a fang punctured his lung, and
his body clawed, after throwing himself from a moving monorail over a
protective fence into the tiger's enclosure.
The man was alone with the tiger for about 10 minutes before he was rescued
by zoo officials, who used... more »

*Two troubled 13-year-old boys from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, are accused of
murdering the 78-year-old great-grandmother of one of the suspects using a
hatchet and hammer before ransacking her house in search of valuables. *
The teens, identified as Antonio Barbeau and Nathan Paape, were arrested
and charged as adults of first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly
killing Barbara Olsen, whose body was found in a pool of blood at her home
on Wednesday.
According to a criminal complaint, Paape told police that on Monday, his
friend-turned-accomplice told him that they would go to the... more »

As a follow-up to yesterday's post highlighting Lew Lapham's essay on our
current Feast of Fools, we have lots of good commentary explicating what is
perhaps his too-overwhelming genius for knowing almost too much about
political history, philosophy and the cultural mores informing our present
very unpleasant situation as to lack of leadership for voters not in the
top 1%. Straight from the

*A wealthy chiropractor and his long-time girlfriend are swapping their
$1.2 million waterfront home for prison.*
The Seattle couple were discovered to be collecting almost $2,000-a-month
welfare benefits and even food stamps while living in the luxury property,
driving a Jaguar and travelling the world.
A federal judge sentenced chiropractor David Silverstein, 60, and Lyudmila
Shimonova, 53, to 18 months in prison Friday.
Silverstein also must pay a criminal fine of $30,000, which comes on top of
the $334,000 he’s already paid in restitution and civil penalties.
Shimonova was or... more »

A magnitude 3.4 earthquake has struck ONTARIO, CANADA at a depth of 5 km
(3.1 miles), the quake hit at 16:10:39 UTC Saturday 22nd September 2012
The epicenter was 50 km (31 miles) NNE of Chapleau, Canada
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

When I first saw the secret Romney tape at $50,000 a plate fundraiser in
the mansion of sex orgy king and vulture capitalist Marc Leder, I figured
this would really hurt Romney with people of faith. I don't think I've ever
heard a message from a presidential candidate more inimical to Jesus
Christ than the divisive claptrap that Romney was spewing about 47% of
Americans. 47% of Americans, by the way, was (on Sept. 1 of this year)
147,773,640 people. That's a helluva lot of moochers for the Republicans to
ignore and not be concerned about. But Ayn Romney gets pissed off if anyone
... more »

Welcome to our second day! With a full heart, for all the love found
here, let’s begin.
It is not true, not ever, that you are alone. Now, you may feel alone
and look lonely, yet this is part of the illusion. The illusion of
separation has been so powerfully magnified, we have even imagined
isolation. If only you could step way back and see the magnificent being
that is you, surrounded by the rest of us, you would know for certain this
could never be true. We are One.
You’ve been given this body, these eyes and heart to explore in tangible,
physical ways what it is ... more »

[image: Karakoram's Hunza and Lady Finger peaks. Unlike the rest of the
Himalayas, which are losing mass, the Karakoram glaciers seem to be holding
steady or even gaining ice, finds a new study. Takayuki Hayato /
Shutterstock]
By Becky Oskin, LiveScience Contributor
12 September 2012
Many politically unstable areas of South Asia are "water-stressed," meaning
the areas are facing water scarcity due to poor infrastructure or simply
lacking enough water to meet demand.
The potential impacts of climate change on water scarcity could further
inflame political tensions, finds a new re... more »

*(Reuters) - The United States has denied visas to about 20 Iranian
government officials hoping to attend next week's U.N. General Assembly,
including two ministers, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Saturday.*
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a regular at the assembly since he
took office in 2005, will give his final speech there on Wednesday and will
address a meeting on the "rule of law" on Monday.
But of the 160-or-so visas requested by the Iranian delegation two months
ago, about 20 were turned down, Fars said.
It gave no reason, but many Iranian officials are subject ... more »

image source Paul Craig Roberts, *Contributor*
Paul Craig Roberts was interviewed by Nilantha Ilangamuwa, editor of *
Torture*, a print and online magazine published by the Asian Human Rights
Commission based in Hong Kong and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre
for Torture Victims in Denmark. Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives is a
new initiative which focuses on torture and its related issues globally.
Writers interested in having their research on this subject published, may
submit their articles to torturemag@ahrc.asia
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was educated at Georgia Tech, ... more »

PressTV
The Central Intelligence Agency should be ordered to say whether it has
documents explaining the use of unmanned drones to kill individuals in
Pakistan and Yemen, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
told a federal appeals court in Washington.
The ACLU, in arguments on Thursday in Washington, said the CIA’s refusal to
confirm or deny that it has records on the drone program is unlawful
because President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have
publicly acknowledged the program’s existence in public interviews.
“We think it’s clear -- and th... more »

Ill-assorted figures this week cited 2013 as the year in which the United
States was expected to go to war on Iran. Among them was Iran’s atomic
commission director Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, former US ambassador to Israel
Martin Indyk, and players in the US-Iranian war game staged at the Saban
Center for Middle East Policy in Washington, whose heads are close to US
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
This apparent US-Iranian concord was unusual but not fortuitous, say
debkafile analysts.
On the part of Washington, it had a distinct purpose, which was to
demonstra... more »

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake has struck the SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE at a
depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the quake hit at 14:38:07 UTC Saturday 22nd
September 2012
The epicenter was 552 km (342 miles) NNW of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas,
Saint Helena
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

*YouTube -- ExperimentalVaccines*
I never thought I would be talking about genetically modified people
outside of pitching some new science fiction movie to the predictive
programming industry called Hollywood. Instead I find the government
admitting to secret tests being conducted on soldiers in order to
genetically modify their abilities. The agency in charge of this Island of
doctor Moreau research just happens to be the same department responsible
for making drones and surveillance robots that will be used to gather up
dissidents during the coming conflagration.
The Defe... more »

[image: This image shows the different distribution of ice extent at the
time of the September 2012 minimum, compared to the September 2007 minimum.
Dark gray indicates where ice extent was present only in 2007; white
indicates where ice extent was present only in 2012; and light gray shows
where ice extent was present in both 2007 and 2012. National Snow and Ice
Data Center]
19 September 2012 (NSIDC) – On 16 September 2012, sea ice extent dropped to
3.41 million square kilometers (1.32 million square miles). This appears to
have been the lowest extent of the year. In response to ... more »

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake has struck the NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW
GUINEA at a depth of 59 km (36.7 miles), the quake hit at 13:31:04 UTC
Saturday 22nd September 2012
The epicenter was 133 km (82 miles) Southeast of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

*Activist Post*
*
*As you will see in the video below, the results collected during a study
that focused on determining the potential harm done to animals and humans
from consuming GMO corn NK603 are worthy of the outrage and concern we are
finally witnessing on a mass scale. The most telling discovery is that*rats
fed GMO had a 600% increase in death over the control group*. Experts
across the spectrum have weighed in to discuss these shocking findings.
Equally disturbing are the findings surrounding the world's leading
herbicide, Roundup. It is a combination that now can be conclu... more »

This week, Reuters broke the news that the world’s largest store, Walmart,
had taken the decision to no longer carry the world’s largest etailor’s
Kindle tablets and eReaders once the existing inventory and purchase
commitments had been honoured. It was reported as being a merchandising
strategy and a recognition that Amazon is a real competitor across all
media content. Is more about who owns the customer, who is providing the
service and whose brand is actually being built than dropping some devices?
In the physical world it was all about filling the shelf and if you didn’t
hav... more »

[image: Modelled price impacts of extreme weather event scenarios in 2030.
Extreme weather events in a single year could bring about price spikes of
comparable magnitude to two decades of projected long-run price increases.
Oxfam, 2012]
By Jaya Ramachandran, Arab News
16 September 2012
(SRPC) – While there are hardly any signs of substantive and
forward-looking agreements being reached at the UN climate change
conference from Nov. 26 to Dec. 7, in Doha, latest research cautions that
impact of climate change on future food prices is being underestimated.
“By the end of the most r... more »

*Continuity of Agenda: Neo-Cons and Obama administration sponsor global
terror against Iran. *
Tony Cartalucci, *Contributor*
As the US government confirms that terrorists involved in the Benghazi,
Libya US consulate attack were indeed the very militants funded, armed, and
provided air support in last year's bid to overthrow the government of
Libya, yet another disturbing announcement has been made. Terror
organization Mujahedeen e-Khalq (MEK) will be delisted by the US State
Department in order to clear legal obstacles in the way of overtly arming
and funding the terrorists in p... more »

Terrance Nelson*Censored News*
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com
Terrance Nelson responds to Professor Sadiq Rahimi's article on the
upcoming First Nations delegation to Iran. After Nelson, former Chief of
Roseau River in Manitoba, announced the visit to Iran in October, with
Dakota Chiefs, Canada quickly closed its Iranian Embassy.
Rahimi calls his own article, "Terrance Nelson's courtship with the Iranian
Republic."
*"What Nelson is attempting can have serious publicity and security
implications for the Canadian government, both at home and internationally.
Nelson is a popular l... more »

Global Research
Prof. James Petras
*The so-called “Arab Spring:” is a distant and bitter memory to those who
fought and struggled for a better world, not to speak of the thousands who
lost, life and limb. In its place, throughout the Muslim world, a new wave
of reactionaries, corrupt and servile politicians have taken the reins of
power buttressed by the same military, secret police and judicial power who
sustained the previous rulers.[2]*
*
*
* * ***
*Introduction*
*
*
Death and destruction is rampant, poverty and misery has multiplied, law
and order has broken down, retr... more »

[image: Cars swept downstream after heavy rain, near the ford across a
tributary of the River Bain, Goulceby, Lincolnshire, 4 April 2012. The ford
— some distance behind the black Peugeot in this picture — usually is about
4 inches deep. The year 2012 saw the wettest British spring since records
began. Paul Stainthorp / flickr]
By Stephen Leahy, www.guardian.co.uk
14 September 2012
Uxbridge, Canada – The record loss of Arctic sea ice this summer may mean a
cold winter for the UK and northern Europe. The region has been prone to
bad winters after summers with very low sea ice, suc... more »

Bill Moyers has the key to restoring democracy to his United States of
America.
*This is a racket, plain and simple. A new report from Moody’s Investor
Service says that all that spending by the parties, corporations, super
PACs and other outside groups will push political ad spending up this year
by half a billion dollars — 25 percent higher than 2010 – the biggest
increase in history. That prompted the CEO of CBS, Leslie Moonves, to lick
his chops and tell an investors conference last December, “There’s going to
be a lot of money spent. I’m not saying that’s the best thing for Am... more »

*Jack Straw (right) UK Foreign Minister at the time of 9 11.*
Jack Straw supported the invasion of Iraq.
Richard Ingrams in The Independent wondered whether Straw's predecessor as
Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, was removed at George Bush's request.[27]
One of Jack Straw's maternal great-grandparents was a Jewish German
immigrant.[1]
*Straw and Rice*
Reportedly George Bush eventually had Jack Straw sacked as UK Foreign
Secretary.
Jack Straw's son, William Straw, was cautioned by Police for drug dealing.
Jack Straw has a brother who was convicted of a sex attack on a schoolgir... more »

"I sacrificed a half a million in deductions so I could win a $400K a year
job. What have YOU sacrificed, lately?" #p2 #ThingsMittMightSay
— Robert Crawford (@jurassicpork59) September 22, 2012
I may or may not post later today. I have to do a little food shopping and
run an errand or two in the meat world. I was thinking about writing a post
about yesterday's document dump at the end of the week but it looks as if
Jill at Brilliant at Breakfast covered the topic pretty well. Plus, she has
more authority to speak of these things because she's an actual taxpayer
(or, as Romney would... more »

Editor's Note: Real unemployment is as high as %40
American Free Press
Keith Johnson
•With 8% unemployment, why are prisoners working while citizens aren’t?
By Keith Johnson
As if American businesses don’t have enough trouble competing with free
traders, who exploit cheap labor in third world countries to make sizable
profits, they are also fighting government-run corporations that pay
prisoners pennies on the dollar to manufacture cheap goods and undercut
private industry.
Is it any wonder that the United States has the highest rate of
incarceration in the industrialized world?... more »

From the *Toronto Star*:
I am ashamed to be a Canadian. I have been involved with the campaign to
keep Kim Rivera in Canada for some time. It is obvious that most Canadians
think that as a conscientious objector to the war in Iraq she should stay
here rather than face court martial and jail separate from her family.
When I opened my Star on Thursday I saw another story of a deportation on
the same page as Rivera's story. Fatemeh Derakhshandeh Tosarvandan is to be
sent back to Iran, where she could face stoning as a result of an
accusation of adultery.
What kind of a country has Can... more »

Following the State of the Schools Address last week by Ed Commish Chris
Cerf, another of Jeb Bush's Chiefs of Change, Bruce Baker took time to
elegantly eviscerate the State's misleading and disingenuous analysis,
particularly in relation to low-scoring, high-poverty schools (priority
schools). Below is a small clip from Baker's takedown, which describes the
connections among race, class, and test performance, which the Cerf plan
for corporate charter school privatization ignores. Do read the entire
post, for it is relevant to every state where public education is being
displaced... more »

It's
really too bad that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not running as
a third party presidential spoiler, as had once been threatened. That is
because he makes Mitt Romney look like St. Vincent de Paul.
In a parody of an FDR fireside chat, Bloomberg went on the radio
yesterdayto advise the burgeoning ranks of the destitute to just wait it
out. The
sun'll come out tomorrow. You can bet your bottom dollar, but not his 25
billion dollars:
*You* should not be that depressed, we grow out of these things, *we*
have
been through these cycles many, many times before
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... more »

This is a post I've been waiting to write for years.
I've been on an emotional roller coaster for the past few days. While the
War Resisters Support Campaign was pulling out all the stops trying to keep
Kimberly Rivera and her family in Canada, I was waiting to hear about a job
I interviewed for at the children's library where I work. Between the two
events, I was a roiling mass of anxiety.
Apparently it was a big deal just to score an interview. I prepared
intensively for it: I had to submit an outline for a storytime for toddlers
- stories, "action songs", props, music - and demon... more »

Dilaton has noticed a new, extremely provocative concept that was
introduced among the quantum gravity researchers two months ago: the
firewall.
For decades, people teaching general relativity – including your humble
correspondent (e.g. here) – have been explaining that nothing special
happens to an infalling observer when she crosses a black hole event
horizon. The curvature is usually pretty small there – the curvature radius
is close to the black hole radius – and you only get torn apart once you
approach the black hole singularity which may be much later.
The event horizon... more »

Naomi Wolf saw something horrid in the Mitt Romney "behind closed doors"
video - the last gasp of the *American Dream*.
*...I find [Romney's] remarks fascinating and important to deconstruct
because they affirm – as insider discourse captured for the public often
can – the fact that a new kind of narrative for America has taken over from
one of our oldest and most cherished national myths. What Romney's comments
reveal is that the American Dream is dead, killed off by skepticism from
the bottom up – by the 99% of lower-income and middle-class people who no
longer believe in it – and... more »

I so do not belong to what this Guardian article calls paparazzi culture.
Don't own a camera or cellphone. Don't do Facebook (I did for a period
around the 'No Prorogue' stuff, but under my bloggy name). I have never
liked having my photo taken -- the front-tooth-less bathtub shot (haha,
Mom) was a heavy straw on that camel's back -- so there are just not a lot
of pictures of me.
I have uploaded exactly one photo of myself -- that a couple of weeks ago
onto LinkedIn. (I had and have severe misgivings about it, but hey, I need
work.)
I had never heard of 'creep shots' and 'revenge p... more »

[image: around_3]
*Pomelo peels drying. They will be mashed and mixed with sugar to make a
base for pomelo tea.*
Han Yi-shaw in the NYTimes has produced a total propaganda column on the
Senkaku mess, with highly selective use of sources and what appears to be a
deliberate mistranslation. I'll take a look at it tomorrow, no time
tonight. But once again, I urge the reader to consult this awesome post in
Chinese with maps and texts as well as Ampontan's post Coming Attractions.
Han's piece is well beyond sad, sadder still that someone as well known as
Kristoff gave it his imprimatur, i... more »

The allegation is simple. Pharmaceutical companies provide doctors with
studies favourable to their products but don't publish studies that show
the drug to be worthless or worse.
*I did everything a doctor is supposed to do. I read all the papers, I
critically appraised them, I understood them, I discussed them with the
patient and we made a decision together, based on the evidence. In the
published data, reboxetine was a safe and effective drug. In reality, it
was no better than a sugar pill and, worse, it does more harm than good. As
a doctor, I did something that, on the bal... more »

Philip Smith
*StopTheDrugWar*
Switzerland is on the verge of decriminalizing the possession of up to 10
grams of marijuana after the lower house of parliament Thursday agreed to
align itself with the Senate's version of the legislation, according to the
Swiss news portal Swissinfo.ch. A final reading of the bill is expected to
happen before the end of the fall session next week.
That would bring Switzerland in line with most of its Western European
neighbors, which tolerate small-time marijuana possession. The move comes
four years after voters rejected outright legalization in ... more »

*YouTube - UCYTV*
Part 3: As Above, So Below: The Globalist Agenda Reflected in Local
Politics Through 'Council of Governments'
http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2012/08/as-above-so-below-globalist-agenda.html
For Brandon Turbeville's most recent articles, visit his archive page:
http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/search/label/Brandon%20Turbeville
*Brandon Turbeville is an author out of Mullins, South Carolina. He has a
Bachelor's Degree from Francis Marion University and is the author of three
books, Codex Alimentarius -- The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Co... more »

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